Blended
by WizMonCruWil
Summary: I have searched for a long time for a story in which Jess, April and Gigi are all brought into Luke and Lorelai's fold, and where our favorite Stars Hollow couple also have a child of their own. I have chipped away at this while writing and publishing the stream of smaller fics I have done lately. It is partially inspired by a one-shot called Daughters by Quaggy. Please, enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: What A Nice Reunion

**Chapter 1: What A Nice Reunion**

The mother, father and daughter stared up at the imposing Gilmore mansion. For the two girls, they had been here a couple of times before, with more regularity in recent months. Having their shared male companion here was a novelty - and it was even more of a novelty to be in the company of who was expecting them inside.

"I have to see my parents," Lorelai breathed.

"I have to see _my_ parents," Christopher Hayden echoed, hating the prospect even more.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the drama King and Queen of Connecticut," their daughter, Rory, pronounced. She failed to lighten the mood.

Rory herself didn't remember her paternal grandparents, Straub and Francine Hayden. She didn't even know what to refer to them as. Apparently, they had met once before, when Rory was a baby and the Gilmore girls were still living at the family mansion.

The trio finally willed themselves inside. At first glance, Straub seemed like a proper fellow with a distinctive white beard, sharing pleasantries with Richard about business. Francine was more reserved and quiet, almost fading into the background with her martini, a striking turquoise dress the only reminder of her presence.

However, once the liquor was poured and the topic turned to the past (just about the only thing these two elite families had in common, other than the little girl nestled between her parents on one couch), true colors were revealed. And how ugly they were.

"Tell me, Lorelai, what have you been doing with your life anyway, besides hating on successful businessmen? I'm just curious," Straub drolled.

Lorelai could recognize the condescending tone from a mile away. It was the exact kind of attitude she and Rory had run away from, and she was grateful for the middle-class exposure that now gave her insight into such hypocrisy. Even so, she attempted to keep her tone civil and correct. "Well, Straub, I run an inn, near Stars Hollow."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," her voice barely laced with annoyance. Lorelai had always known Straub was a bore, ever since she was 16, but she had forgotten just how much.

"Dad, come on," Christopher tried to rein his father in, but it was fruitless. Straub was just getting started.

"Nice to see you've found your calling."

"Dinner's ready," Emily Gilmore tried to sound firm. She knew where this conversation was going, and it could only go one way: down.

"Christopher, your tie," Francine quietly prompted.

"Mom, please!"

"And is your life everything you hoped it would be?" Straub interrogated.

Lorelai chanced a loving glance at her daughter. "Yes, it is," she sincerely replied.

"Because it seems to me you might not want to take such a haughty tone when you announce to the world that you work in a _hotel_."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with where I work," Lorelai shot back.

By now, Straub was starting to get on everyone's nerves, even those of his own wife. "Straub, please, I'm getting a headache..."

"Come on, Richard, lead us into the dining room - now!" Emily was growing more and more desperate and impatient.

"If you had attended a university, as your parents had planned and as we planned in vain for Christopher, you might have aspired to something more than a blue collar position."

"Don't do this!" Christopher practically begged his father.

"And I wouldn't give a damn about you derailing your own life if you hadn't swept my son along with you!" Straub was finally firing on all cylinders, and doing so as his only granddaughter was sitting just across from him. Knowing things were about to devolve into a verbal slugfest - and afraid of just what might come out of anyone's mouth, Lorelai prompted Rory, "Honey, go in the next room." A pained Rory reluctantly left, clearly aware that this was about to become all about her. As much as Lorelai tried to prevent it, the damage of Straub's words had already been done.

The entire time, Richard's jaw had grown steadily harder, his mouth in a tight, creased frown. "I'm going to have to echo Christopher's call for civility here. A mutual mistake was made many years ago by these two, but they've come a long way since."

"A mutual mistake, Richard?" Straub practically laughed. "This whole evening is ridiculous! We're supposed to sit here like one big, happy family and pretend the damage that was done is over? Gone? I don't care how good a student you say that girl is!"

"Hey!" Lorelai gaped, her mama bear instincts roaring to life.

"Our son was bound for _Princeton_!" Straub stressed, sounding genuinely pained. "Every Hayden male attended Princeton, including myself - but it all stopped with Christopher! It's a humiliation we've had to live with every day - all because you seduced him into ruining his life! She had that baby and she ended his future!"

And that's when Richard finally snapped. Straub had finally crossed the line - the implication that Rory was in any way at fault for what had happened. "You recant that, Straub!" The elder Gilmore was out of his chair, grabbing Straub by the arm so that the latter's martini upended into his lap.

"You're spilling my drink!"

"You owe my daughter an apology!"

"An apology? That's rich!" The two men were nose to nose.

"How dare you... how _dare_ you! How _dare_ you come into my house and insult my daughter!" Richard grabbed Straub by the collar, so that Christopher had no choice but to get between them.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What is going on here?!"

"Shame on you! Shame on you, Straub, for bringing this up again! My daughter is _very_ successful at what she does!" Richard rained down verbal hellfire.

"We're leaving!" Straub snapped.

"You're not leaving; I'm kicking you out!" Richard bellowed. He retreated to his study, while Straub stalked from the mansion, Francine dithering after him.

Lorelai and Christopher were left alone in the sitting room, shellshocked, the remnants of the verbal altercation still painted in their minds across the walls.

That's when Lorelai remembered: _paint! Luke!_

"I... I have to go! Oh my God, I completely forgot!"

"Lore... what?"

"Take Rory home on your motorcycle! I'll meet you guys back at the house!" And not caring that she didn't believe Christopher's 2000 Indian was appropriately safe for a 16-year-old girl, Lorelai ran for the Jeep, hoping Luke would understand...

* * *

As she flew down the highway, Lorelai's eyes stung with tears, briefly blurring her vision of the road ahead of her, as she played back the unbelievable evening in her mind. How dare that monster of a man imply that Rory... did he even care about his granddaughter at _all_? She had to, for once, pity her parents, having to share a grandchild with those people.

Stars Hollow came rushing into view as a welcome sight, and Lorelai was stumbling from the car before it had even completely stopped at the curb besides Luke's Diner. She was openly sobbing now, and not particularly caring who saw or heard.

The door tinkled and there stood Luke, a paint can in one hand. He barely remembered not to drop it as he ran to her in concern; without thinking, he pulled her into his arms. Lorelai clung to him, choking on her tears.

"What in blue blazes?..." Luke rumbled. "Lorelai, what happened?" He led her inside and up the stairs to his loft, the painting forgotten, as Lorelai began to recount her sad tale.

"Rory's paternal grandparents are despicable excuses for human beings!" Lorelai ranted. "The second time in her life that they've seen her, and they acted like she was a total stranger! Or an alien! Or a liberal who accidentally wandered onto the set of Fox News! I had to hear that man basically say my daughter is a... mistake! That it is her fault for everything bad that's every happened to them! Needless to say, Dad went ballistic and threw them out."

Luke gawped in disbelief. "Who _are_ these people?"

"The Haydens. The Connecticut elite. A small reason why the Republican Party still exists. Rory's paternal grandparents."

Luke's face slowly tinged a bright purple. He had heard plenty of tales about Richard and Emily, but even they had never done something like this. Never before had his best friend said a word about Christopher's parents. And he'd only just met Christopher the man a few days before. "Where do they live? I'll give them a tongue lashing!"

Lorelai pressed a hand into his chest to stop him as he prowled for the door. "Luke, no!" She certainly didn't want him subjected to Straub's wrath; she could only imagine what snobbery Straub would say about a diner owner on his doorstep, if he certainly wasn't impressed that the mother of his grandchild worked in a "hotel." And anyway, now that Lorelai's head was clearer, she had to admit that Francine was not really at fault. Other than not saying a damn word and letting her husband run his mouth. But Francine Hayden had always been afraid of her husband, in some small measure. In other words, the perfect trophy wife.

"Where do they get the _gall_ to say that Rory is... regretted or... not welcome?" Luke's voice cracked with emotion. "That beautiful little girl, and they don't even want her? Want to _know_ her?"

Lorelai hung her head. "They never did. Straub lobbied hard for me to get an abortion after I got pregnant."

Luke's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "I'm sorry, but... what the _fuck_?"

Lorelai blinked, taken aback. She had heard Luke rant - plenty of times - but never had she ever heard him swear.

"The asshole! The absolute _asshole_ not wanting his own grandchild! Did he say all this bullshit with Rory in the room?" his tone indicating that Straub better damn not have.

Lorelai laughed mirthlessly. "Oh, he would have, if I hadn't sheltered Rory in the kitchen! Straub has never learned tact."

The muscles in Luke's jaw flexed, cracked. He leaned towards Lorelai and whispered sincerely. "If my parents were alive, they would have gladly adopted Rory. At least she'd have two sets of grandparents who give a shit! If Rory were mine... I would never regret her!"

Lorelai stared at him, overcome with appreciation and affection for this man who had spent years looking after her and Rory from afar. She felt her heart would burst if she didn't do something about it.

So she grabbed Luke and kissed him full on the mouth.

Luke relaxed into it surprisingly quickly, and Lorelai was startled by how hard and unyielding his lips were pressed against her own. They broke apart, gasping, in shock.

"Luke, I..."

"Will you just stand still?" Lorelai was cut off as Luke suddenly pulled her back into his embrace and kissed her again. Closing her eyes, and for years starved of sexual contact in order to protect Rory, Lorelai gave in, kissing him back. The pair stumbled back towards Luke's bed in one corner, tearing at each other's clothes in a frenzy, Lorelai felt her skirt and party sweater fall away. The back of her knees bumped into the foot of the mattress and she tumbled back onto it, taking Luke with her, so that he nestled perfectly between her legs.

Slowly, with great care, Luke pushed into Lorelai. Impressed by his size, Lorelai pulled him close and kissed him again, daring to slip her tongue into his mouth. Luke quickly built up a rhythm, sliding in and out of her, each thrust coming faster and faster and harder and harder as Lorelai bucked her pelvis back into him.

"Oh, Luke!"

"Lorelai... you can't imagine... how long... no idea..." Even in the midst of intercourse, Luke was not good with words. At last, with a grunt, he spilled his seed into her, his head flopping into the valley of Lorelai's breasts, so that he kissed each one.

"LUKE!" Lorelai screamed as she quickly followed in her orgasm. Exhausted from emotions and physical exertion, the pair fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

It was the middle of the morning when Lorelai woke up, to find herself naked, in an unfamiliar bed.

And with Luke snoring beside her.

Oh dear God... Rory...

"I have to get home!"

Lorelai sprang out of bed and dove for her scattered clothes, waking up her partner in the process. "Lorelai? Where are you going?"

"Christopher took Rory home last night, and I never went home! They're both probably worried sick!"

Luke leapt up and hurriedly moved to redress himself. "Lorelai, wait! We... we have to talk about this!" Something had broken between them last night, never to return, and the Diner owner only hoped it hadn't permanently ruined their friendship.

"And we will," Lorelai promised, knowing all too well the conversation they now needed to have, that needed to be addressed. "Just... I have to go!" And she dashed out the door of the loft, exiting the diner out of the back storage room, and leaving Luke with a wounded heart.

* * *

Christopher was waiting in the kitchen for Lorelai when she arrived, brewing coffee.

"Where were you last night? Why didn't you come home?"

"I had to help a really good friend paint his diner. I fell asleep in the middle of it, and he let me stay at his place."

Thankfully, Christopher didn't notice the obvious lack of paint on Lorelai's clothing. Or how rumpled her clothes were. "Well, this is for the road," he held up his mug as he shrugged on his leather jacket.

Lorelai stared. "You're leaving?"

Christopher refused to look her in the eye as he shouldered his bag. "Rory's still asleep in her room. Kiss her goodbye for me." At least, he looked truly regretful at having to leave his daughter yet again. But that didn't change the fact that this was vintage Christopher - ready to run at the first sign of trouble. The explosive family reunion of the night before had given him the perfect excuse.

Lorelai smiled weakly, trying to act like his running away didn't bother her. But even after sixteen years, it stung. She didn't care so much for herself, really, but always was incensed by how Rory crushed Rory got, and would get again. "OK. Drive safe."

And she watched through the window as Christopher motored off on his 2000 Indian.


	2. Chapter 2: Accident

**Chapter 2: Accident**

A few weeks after she impulsively slept with her best friend, Lorelai found herself throwing up regularly.

At first, she attributed it to a stomach bug, perhaps brought on by how Straub's atrocious behavior at Friday Night Dinner still left her with a bitter taste in her mouth. That man really was odious, if his very acknowledgement could make her literally, physically ill.

But then, a critical shoe dropped that would turn Lorelai Gilmore's world upside down from then on.

It was mid-April, and a warm spring was finally settling over Connecticut, driving away the winter's chill. Rory and Lorelai were at Friday Night Dinner; since the scuffle with the Haydens around the first of March (How appropriate, Lorelai mused: the Ides of March brought on such calamities as Caesar's assassination. Super Tuesday. White shoes back in.), Emily had remained determined to not address the incident, acting as though it had never happened. Which was par for the course for her. In the world where she and Richard thrived, scandal was to be muzzled as quickly as possible and then never spoken of again. Such an elitist attitude had fueled the Gilmores' desire to see Lorelai and Christopher get married when Rory was born; Straub had merely one-upped them in wanting to get rid of "the problem" entirely. In the Gilmores' circle, however, abortion was frowned upon, so Straub had boldly gone against ideology in suggesting Rory be terminated. Even if a teenage Lorelai had shared his views, he would have lost anyway.

On this particular weekly visit, Emily took the unusual step of not having a desert ready in advance, instead asking the girls, "What would you ladies like to satisfy your sweet tooth?"

The phrasing made Lorelai raise an eyebrow. As a child, most candy had been banned from the Gilmore house; even more innocent delights were left unaccounted for during the annual trick-or-treat on Halloween. Probably remembering this herself, Rory was timid and shy in requesting, "I'll just have vanilla ice cream, Grandma."

"I'll have an apple," Lorelai blurted out without thinking. Then, she realized what she said, prompted all the more so by Emily's surprised and snarky response, "All right, Lorelai, but I wouldn't classify an apple as a desert."

Lorelai thought her mother would have been pleased that she had decided on a more healthy approach, but the thought mattered less than the realization that asking for any healthy confectionery was completely out of character for the Inn owner. So out of character, in fact, that she could remember the very last time she had ever eaten an apple. Years ago. It had been a craving...

When she was pregnant with Rory.

Oh dear God...

Lorelai numbly and silently chewed on the apple when it was presented to her literally on a silver platter, her eyes locked on her daughter happily munching on her ice cream. The exit from the Gilmore mansion and drive back to Stars Hollow occurred in uniform silence, with Rory stealing concerned glances at her mother, but unsure whether to bring anything up.

Arriving back at the Crap Shack on Number 37, Maple Street, Lorelai practically dumped Rory onto the front porch before turning right around for the Jeep. "Stay here! I have to go see Luke!" unable to think up a convincing lie fast enough.

"What for? The Diner's closed! He's probably asleep!" Rory frowned, but her mother was already peeling away.

Lorelai knew she couldn't have walked to the Diner, even if it was mere blocks away. Her legs were wobbly (which could be partially attributed to how sore she still felt from her sexual encounter - her first in years), and she suddenly had a huge urge to go to the bathroom - the telltale sign that she was nervous. Terrified. Arriving at the curb, she knocked on the door until her knuckles were numb, determined to talk to Luke tonight even if she had to wait until the stars faded from the sky.

Eventually, the window above her opened.

"Kirk, what in the hell -?!" Luke stopped short in poking his head out the window, his face partway obscured by the darkness when he saw it was Lorelai below. "Lorelai!" he breathed, and he seemed relieved to see her. The pair had not yet spoken since the night they had made love.

"We need to talk," Lorelai informed him firmly. "Let me in!"

Luke left the window open in his haste to admit her, and a few moments later, the Diner's door tinkled as it swung open. Lorelai marched right past Luke in the direction of the loft, with him nervously following her. He probably figured at long last they were going to have the conversation they needed to have, about whether - in light of recent events - their friendship could be salvaged. And they would discuss that - sort of.

Only after the loft was safely secured and the lights on did Lorelai turn to face the Diner owner.

"Lorelai, I understand if you just want to remain friends, and forget what... happened between us ever happened. But you need to know that that night you came to me was the best night of my life. I love you, and if you felt you wanted to give it a try, I am all in for going out."

Lorelai let Luke say his piece, but didn't respond to it, determined to not be thrown off track. If she didn't get it out now, she never would, and then where would they be? "I'm pregnant."

There was a moment of silence, as Luke - wide-eyed and suddenly possessing a sheen of sweat on his brow - stumbled back into a nearby easy chair. "Are you sure? How do you know?"

"I ate an apple," Lorelai explained simply and shortly.

"Huh?"

"I ate an apple."

"But you didn't take a pregnancy test?"

"I don't need to! I ate an apple, and I only ever ate apples when I was pregnant with Rory! It was my main craving! Me, Queen of the Junk Foods, craving apples when I'm knocked up!" Lorelai began to work herself up into a frenzy. Luke sprang from the couch.

"OK, OK, calm down... I believe you..." he soothed, even if this new piece of information about his friend left him smiling inside. While it might have seemed terribly unlike Lorelai to eat healthily - Luke knew all too well from experience - it seemed just like Rory to want apples in the womb. For Luke had remembered reading somewhere that the fetus controlled the cravings, not the mother. The mother was merely the vehicle for obtaining the craved food item.

"You're still taking a pregnancy test, though," he admonished her. He felt Lorelai smirk from where she was now being held against his chest. That was when the brunt of their new reality hit him all over again. He was going to be a parent... with the woman he had always secretly dreamed of having children with. He and Lorelai were going to be parents... "What are we going to do?"

Lorelai stiffened slightly against him, evidently not wanting to think about that just yet. Luke quickly tried to amend his words a little. "I mean, it's your choice. I will support you whatever you decide." Even if the thought of Lorelai choosing abortion or adoption left him pained.

Lorelai stared up into his face. "Luke... you don't have to do anything..."

Luke shook his head firmly. "Let me rephrase my earlier statement: I will support whatever you decide... except raising the baby alone."

Lorelai finally stepped out of his embrace as if physically struck, her eyes suddenly blazing. Luke braced himself. Were the hormones roaring to life already? "You don't think I can do it?" she snapped, offended.

"No!" Luke got out quickly. "It's just that this time you don't _have_ to do it. Alone, I mean. I want to help you. And Rory. I want to be involved!" His voice suddenly dropped to a softer register, as Luke made a deep vulnerability known. "That's all I've ever wanted. You have no idea how hard it was watching you guys go home every night to the potting shed, when you lived at the Inn. You poor, Rory cold..." He shook his head to clear it. "Our baby won't go through any of that! Not on my watch."

Lorelai gazed at him, moved by the testament Luke had just brought forth. Against her better judgement (and at the whim of her roller-coasting hormones), she cupped Luke's face in her hands and softly kissed him. "OK," she murmured quietly.

"OK?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

Lorelai nodded. "OK. How... how about... we talk about you moving in to the Crap Shack? I... I'll want you around. Closer, easy access. To help Rory and I prepare." Even if the potential for growing intimacy to come out of this decision terrified Lorelai.

Luke smiled. "I'll start packing boxes in the morning."

"Good." Lorelai nodded once, then again as she came to accept the decision that had just been made. "Good." She grabbed for Luke's hand. "Come with me."

"Where?"

"Rory. She's at home. We have to tell her."

Luke nearly choked. " _Now_?"

"Yes, now. She's old enough, and she has a right to know she's going to be a big sister."

Luke reluctantly let Lorelai drag him to the Jeep and drive them back to Maple Street. Less terrified he was about becoming a father in nine months than wondering how Rory would react to the news. Would she ever trust him again, especially around her mother? Rory could be very protective of Lorelai when she felt she needed to be, with the roles of parent and child sometimes reversing.

Rory was on the couch, reading a book when her mother and Luke entered. "Hey, Luke."

"Hey, Rory," he replied, forcing himself to look the young girl in the eye as Lorelai got right to the point.

"Honey, come into the kitchen and sit down; Luke and I have something to tell you."

Curious as to what they possibly had to tell her, Rory followed with some wary confusion written into her features. The trio took their places around the small, round table. Lorelai took Rory's hands in hers.

"Rory... the reason I am asking to speak with you is because... Mommy is going to have a baby." Lorelai gestured between Luke and herself. "Luke and I... we're going to have a baby."

Rory took the news silently and with shock. After a moment, she found voice with which to speak. "When... _how_ did this happen?"

Luke turned a shade of pink that at any other time would have been considered amusing by the Gilmore girls. He cleared his throat impressively and leaned forward a little to better address the teenager. "Well, Rory... when a... man and a woman love each other very much... if they love each other in... just the right way... they... are given... a baby."

Rory smiled, actually finding his awkwardness adorable. "It's all right, Luke. I... know how babies are made." And she turned a cute pink herself.

 _And if I have my way, you won't have one until you are forty. At least,_ Luke thought darkly. "Rory... is this... OK? About you getting a baby brother or sister?"

Rory bit her lip for a moment before smiling and nodding her head. "Yes. I've always wanted one."

Relieved that both conversations of the evening had gone much better than she could have imagined, Lorelai rose from the table. "I have to use the restroom," leaving her daughter and new... partner to comes to terms with how their dynamic had now shifted. After a prolonged quiet, Rory spoke up meekly:

"I just want you to know... I really wouldn't mind if you became my stepfather." And by that she conveyed that she knew - had known all along - how Luke felt about her mom, and how she hoped her mother might one day feel the same.

Luke stared at her, realizing he had just received Rory's blessing in a way, and how he was ever grateful for it. "I just want you to know... I really want to _be_ your stepfather."


	3. Chapter 3: Highway to Hell

**Chapter 3: Highway to Hell**

The weeks soon started to blend together for Luke. Spring steamed into summer, with Rory completing her first year at Chilton. The season of schools being out was always the busiest for Luke's Diner, with families including children dominating most of the tables. But in between these meal rushes, Luke still found time to gradually move his life, one box at a time, from the loft to the Crap Shack of the Gilmore Girls. He and Lorelai had found resolve in their mutual decision for him to move in with them - "to live until the baby is born," they said, but they both knew Luke would be a resident of Number 37, Maple Street for at least the next eighteen years.

Before Luke could blink, it was August, he was three-quarters of the way done moving, and Lorelai had hit the five-month mark of her pregnancy. She was showing beautifully, having waited until the last possible moment - well beyond the standard practice of the first trimester - to inform the rest of Stars Hollow that she was expecting. And Luke was the father. Miss Patty had just about had a stroke when Lorelai informed her, knowing the rest of the town would be updated within minutes. The gossip mill run by the promiscuous ballet teacher, co-founded by Babette, did sometimes have its uses.

It was late August, with the Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer festival just over and Rory days into her junior year at Chilton, when Lorelai heaved her round tummy into the Diner, ignoring the stares of onlookers. Locking eyes with Caesar, Luke's most loyal cook leaped to the counter, having dealt with Lorelai more closely since the development of her and Luke's situation.

"He got a phone call this morning just after opening, and retreated upstairs afterwards. He looked really upset."

Lorelai's heart twinged with concern, even though her brain told it not to. "Why didn't he call me?"

Caesar jerked a thumb in the direction of the loft staircase. "Go on up."

Lorelai forced herself up the staircase to the loft and approached the door that still bore the sign of WILLIAM'S HARDWARE. Behind the tinged glass, she could clearly hear crying. Sobbing. Stricken, she burst in without even knocking.

Luke was doubled over in the brown easy chair - one of the few furnishings left in the small space - nearly jumping off it when he saw the mother of his child. "What are you doing here? Why are you even out walking?" He moved to check that she was OK, even while frantically trying to hide the red puffiness of his eyes.

Lorelai glared at him a little, hands on her hips. "I'm pregnant, Luke, not an invalid!" Quickly remembering why she was there, she reigned in her hormones before a verbal back-and-forth escalated. Gently, she touched Luke's arm. "What's wrong? Caesar told me you got a phone call and then shut yourself away."

Luke kept his eyes at his feet. "New York Police Department. They found my sister... dead in her apartment. Of a drug overdose."

Lorelai gasped, a hand to her mouth, her eyes filling with tears. She had never met Liz Danes, but had heard plenty of stories about her from her... partner. She had grown up a wild child, always in big brother Luke's shadow, and had spiraled downwards following the death of their mother. Impulsively gotten married, and then pregnant. Ran away from home, abandoning Luke to care for their ailing father with his cancer.

"Was she alone?"

"There was no boyfriend or loser roommate, if that's what you're wondering," Luke clarified bitterly. "She was barely making the rent as it was - only been there seven months! Jess... was in Central Park... cops had to track him down."

Recalling his nephew, Lorelai squeezed Luke's arm. "Where is he? Is he safe?"

Luke nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. "He's... he's coming here. To Stars Hollow." He gestured at the apartment around them. "It might be just as well too - we're down to the bare-knuckles in here, so he could still stay..." He faltered when he saw Lorelai emphatically shaking her head. Silently, he did the math. "No, I can't ask you and Rory to do that - we don't have room!"

"We'll make room," Lorelai whispered quietly.

Luke spluttered, taken aback by his... partner's generosity, even as he tried desperately to find a way out of it. "But... he's a guy! Rory's age! I will not make her uncomfortable!"

"We have a guest bedroom; they'll be separated by an entire floor," Lorelai soothed. "And even if he tries anything..."

"... you have my permission to kick his ass. And I'll be right behind you in line," Luke growled firmly.

The pair stared at each other, each stunned by the other's willingness to care for their respective charges. Silently, with no prior communication, Luke and Lorelai leaned in and shared a grateful kiss.

Lorelai stepped out of the kiss first, flushed and trying to blame her hormones as the culprit. Even though, in her heart of hearts, she knew that was a lie. She cleared her throat. "I have to... get to the Inn..."

"Do you need coffee?" Luke asked, not caring about giving her that drink of death if it meant he could spend just a little more time with her.

"No, I'm... fine."

"At least let me pick Rory up from school!"

Lorelai paused, thinking it over, and then smiled. "All right. Thank you." And she hurried down the stairs as fast as her pregnant body would allow.

Before she did something stupid like kiss Luke again.

* * *

The Greyhound bus rolled to a halt at the Stars Hollow stop early the next morning, just beyond the corner on which the Diner sat. A hardened youth with spiky black hair, donned in an army jacket and with a soldier's duffel over his shoulder, strutted down the steps. Scanning the streets on which his mother and uncle were apparently reared, the signature scowl remained; he was left unimpressed. His piercing green eyes rose to the yellow coffee cup sign - Jesus H. Christ, his uncle _worked_ here?

Lowering his gaze, Jess Mariano spotted his uncle exiting the Diner and approaching in a backwards baseball cap. He had aged since the last time the boy had seen him, which had been when he was what... 15? Two years ago? Uncle Luke's purpose had always been to come charging in like some trippy angel and save his mom's ass. It didn't matter the trouble - eviction, a boyfriend bum screwing them over. Luke was always there to clean it up.

Luke did his best at a smile, as uncle and nephew regarded each other. "Hey, Jess."

Jess silently gave a jerk of his head in acknowledgement, but didn't return the courtesy, shuffling past Luke to get the lay of the building. "So where we slumming? There a bachelor studio above this joint or something?"

He was naturally intuitive, Luke observed. Then again, he had always known his nephew was bright. The application was where it was lacking. "No, my pad's been emptied out almost to the studs. Follow me."

Perplexed, Jess trailed his uncle into what he judged must be the center of town, past a gazebo and up one block, then another. All around him, an eccentric cast of characters mingled about, making Jess feel like he had fallen headlong into a Disney cartoon. This was either Hell, or the shittiest exile he had ever seen. _I'd rather strand myself on Dagobah or Tattooine_ , he thought bitterly. _Stars Hollow looks like the stomping grounds of an animated princess._

The two men arrived at Number 37, Maple Street, which Jess took in with a raised eyebrow. "Step up," he muttered. But not by much. Luke turned the key in the lock, and both entered.

"Lorelai? Rory? I'm home!"

One of the finest looking women Jess had ever seen came waddling down the stairs. Jess didn't even bother to hide the stare at her pregnant belly, thrown for once. "You married?" Even during his brief visits to the city, Uncle Luke had never mentioned having a wife.

"No, she's just pregnant," Luke growled as he blushed, clearly wanting to drop the subject.

Jess grinned wolfishly. Maybe his uncle wasn't such a stick-in-the-mud after all. "Atta boy!" he punched Luke on the arm. Turning, he found himself nearly crashing into a young girl whose face clearly conveyed a murderous glare, like she wanted to kill him.

Her presence made Jess stumble back. If the mother was hot, especially when knocked up, then _she_ was... _And here's the princess_ , he thought. She had deep blue eyes, and a round, pretty face. Casting aside for the moment the scowl of deep mistrust she sent his way, she looked so innocent, Jess found himself searching for birds twittering above her head, and little woodland animals pooled at her feet, rabies be damned.

"Rory, this is Jess. Jess, Rory." Luke tried to introduce the teens.

Rory said nothing at first, then only followed by a tense, "Pleasure" through tight teeth.

"How ya doing?" Jess shrugged. Rory appeared to be about his age. Attractive enough. He wondered if she had a boyfriend.

"And this is Lorelai," Luke was gesturing to the knocked-up mother.

Jess regarded Lorelai silently, scarcely acknowledging her, before turning on his heel and following his nose to the kitchen. As soon as he was gone, the Gilmore Girls gathered around Luke.

"Man of few words, isn't he? Clarence Thomas is more chatty," Lorelai mused.

"I didn't know this was an episode of Law & Order: SVU. Where's Jerry Orbach?"

"Rory, hush!" her mother scolded. "He just lost his mother and is almost certainly traumatized!"

"That's right," Luke jumped on Lorelai's train of thought. "He'll warm up to us once he gets used to us."

A sudden crash made the trio move into the kitchen. A six-pack of beer was sputtering onto the tiles, with Jess desperately trying to salvage the one unbroken can into his hoodie.

"Hey!" Lorelai gaped. "What in the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Getting a cold one," Jess challenged. "What does it look like?"

"The only cold one you'll be getting is my hand across your face if you ever try to steal in this house again!" Lorelai snapped.

Luke and Rory's mouths simultaneously fell open. This had to be Lorelai's hormones talking at best, an empty threat at worst. Rory knew her mother had never hit her in her life... _never_... And certainly would never hit a kid, even if (from what she'd heard from Luke) he was troubled. For his part, Jess looked stunned. Quickly bringing a mask of indifference back on, however, he stalked from the house.

Luke and the Gilmore Girls sank around the kitchen table. If Lorelai appeared insincere in her vow, she certainly didn't show it. After several minutes of silence in which Jess refused to appear, the mother of the house stood.

"I'm going to go find him." Luke and Rory looked terrified, even if the hardness in Lorelai's face had gradually melted away. Their expressions made Lorelai laugh a little. "I said I was gonna find him, not kill him. I'll be right back."

She didn't have to look for long. Jess was discovered at the Gazebo, staring hard at the lake beyond as the early evening sun dipped towards its waters. Grunting with the effort, Lorelai sank beside him. Jess side-eyed her upon becoming aware of her presence, and, Lorelai noted with smug satisfaction, even shied away from her a bit. She wondered if anyone had ever spoken to him the way she just had back at the house.

"You wanna come in for dinner?"

"Aren't you afraid I'll swipe the silverware?"

Lorelai had to smirk at his verbal parry. "Well played, sir," she noted. She sighed. "Jess, I know being uprooted from fast lanes in the big city to... Storybookland isn't exactly ideal, never mind what you want. And while I'm a lot like your mother - pregnant at 16, partying, the whole shebang - I know I'm not her. And I won't try to be... unless I have to." She stared at him hard. "But my daughter tells me I'm a ball to have around, most of the time. So, if you'll let me, I can be your friend."

Jess eyed her, looking like he was going to say something tough and snarky. But then, he faltered, and Lorelai saw in his eyes the vulnerability of a scared little boy unsure who to trust or just what he might get from others. "Yeah. OK. Thanks." He started to stand, then turned back around in a crouch. "I'm... sorry." He almost choked on the words, as if he had never uttered them before and was trying to get used to the sound.

Lorelai smiled, hope in her features. "Apology accepted. And I'm sorry too. For yelling." She patted her swelling stomach. "You want to get a woman rambling like she's drunk? Get her pregnant. Hormones are a helluva drug, my friend."

Jess actually smirked, even if his eyes looked horrified.

* * *

The last few months of Lorelai's pregnancy progressed in earnest. The young Inn owner reached and passed her due date roughly pinpointed at the middle of November. Thanksgiving came and went.

Meanwhile, Jess slowly but surely began to ingratiate himself to life in Stars Hollow. Luke enrolled him in Stars Hollow High, and though Jess did not nearly apply himself to the level that Rory did, he gutted it out. He began to help with chores around the house when asked, and even took the initiative to keep an eye out for Lorelai, dissuade from doing anything too strenuous, especially when Luke was not in the position to do so. With these watchful tendencies, Lorelai began to recognize that she had come to earn Jess's grudging respect, the flash-point with the beer on his first night representing a turning point in their relationship. Better still, Rory and Jess became accustomed to sharing the same house, even becoming something resembling friends. The two teenagers discovered that Jess was an avid reader himself, despite his effusion towards scholastics, and debates about literature were soon common fare at the dinner table.

On November 30th, 2001, Lorelai awoke to discover a note on Luke's bed, saying that he had gone fishing but without any further explanation. A check of the Diner and above loft gleaned no better answers, and the other folks in town seemed not to want to address Luke's presence suddenly missing, curmudgeonly as it was.

So it was on this day that Lorelai found herself on bedrest, alone in the house, with only Jess for company. It was a day off from school at Stars Hollow High, and the youth had gone to take a nap, telling Lorelai to scream if something went wrong. "I'm a heavy sleeper," Jess had noted.

All at once, Lorelai felt a torrent of dampness flood about her, staining the bedclothes. She scarcely managed to get up before crippling halfway to the floor, the bedpost the only thing that saved her. Oh god... the baby was coming...

Lorelai supposed that she went a little into shock, for she forgot to cry out and in fact seemed to have lost any voice with which to speak. She stumbled into the hall and down the main staircase in a daze, crossing at one point in a crouch to the front door and onto the driveway. She collapsed against the Jeep, jerking the snow-covered door handle, but it wouldn't budge.

That's when she remembered: her keys were back in the house. But where exactly had she left them?

"JESS!" She screamed into the afternoon.

In the next instant, there was a clatter, followed by pounding as Jess awoke and thundered out of the house.

"Lorelai! What the hell are you doing out here?"

"I'm having a baby, that's what the hell I'm doing out here!" Lorelai screeched. "But I can't find my keys so I guess I'm gonna have to go all natural for my labor and pop it out in the snow!"

Jess thought fast. Lorelai had to get to the hospital - and quickly. Luke was MIA, Rory was in school and wouldn't be home on the bus for another few hours. And he had no idea where Lorelai usually stored her keys. "Move."

And nudging her to the side, Jess began to jimmy the car lock with a small, serrated pocketknife he kept on him. The door gave after a few moments, and Jess dove under the dashboard, sparking a few key wires together. Just like that, the car started.

Lorelai stared in disbelief. "How did you do that?"

Jess just regarded her grimly. "A boyfriend or two of Mom's gave me an education just by watching. Get in."

Lorelai circled to the passenger side, still amazed. "You just... _hotwired_ my car! _Hijacked_ my car!" even as Jess leapt into the driver's seat and peeled onto the icy roads. "Never do that again! Do you understand me?"

"Yes, ma'am," Jess acquiesced in a mumble, already focusing on the road. Pulling out his cell phone, he placed a call:

"Uncle Luke, change of plans. You're having a baby. Congratulations. Come home now."

Lorelai gaped "You know where he is?" peeved that Jess would not have shared this with her. She had to admit, she was worried sick.

"I know where he _goes_ , not exactly where he _is_ ," Jess clarified, but he didn't elaborate, as he placed a second call. "Rory? It's Jess. Your mom's in labor. Take the bus that can get you the closest to St. Francis."

* * *

It was hours later. Hours of Lorelai with big, fat ankles and swearing like a sailor, with only Jess and then Rory for support, when Luke at last came charging in. Even on the drugs, Lorelai and her hormones let him have it:

"Where the hell have you been, you sonofabitch? I'm having your baby, and after that, you will _never_ touch me again, you ungrateful, abandoning - AHHHH!"

Luke took it like a man, appearing truly regretful and apologetic as he held Lorelai's hand and tried to speak soothing words to help her through it. Finally, the baby's head was crowning, and the doctors ordered Lorelai to push. With one last scream, the baby slid out.

"It's a boy." And as Luke emotionally cut the umbilical cord, with Rory and Jess looking on in wonder, despite her still being angry with him, Lorelai pronounced with love: "William."

Luke's head swiveled to her. "What?" He and Lorelai had never discussed baby names, with Lorelai gently telling him that she wanted to make her own decision.

"After your father." The resolve on the new mother's face left no room for argument. "William Richard Danes."

"That's Grandpa's name in there, too!" Rory squealed to Jess.

As the thrown-together family watched Lorelai feeding baby William, she worked up the bravery to ask:

"Luke? Where were you today? Why didn't you tell me you would be gone?"

Jess suddenly preferred to stare at the wall, as if he knew too much, while Luke could barely look Lorelai in the eye, still wracked with shame.

"November 30th... is the anniversary of my father's death. Every year, I take a Dark Day. Go off the grid. To grieve."

The explanation made Lorelai recall how Luke had been unusually short with just about everyone in the house, in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving and during. Now she understood. Now it all made sense. "Oh, Luke... I'm so sorry..."

Luke dared to kiss her sweaty forehead to silence her. "I'm sorry too. But it's not your fault." Then, overcome, he suddenly pecked Lorelai right on the lips, making Rory and Jess both jump a little in shock. " _Thank you_ ," Luke croaked out. "For giving our son to me."

Lorelai gazed at him, speechless. At last, she murmured:

"You're welcome."


	4. Chapter 4: April Showers Bring May Flowe

**Chapter 4: April Showers Bring May Flowers**

Lorelai had expected for the hormones to go away after William's birth. Boy, was she wrong.

Ever since they had brought the baby home from the hospital, Lorelai had not been able to stop noticing Luke. At first, she supposed that it was a side effect of post-partum depression, though she didn't feel depressed. And she hadn't in 1984, after having Rory.

Even so, she found herself watching Luke. And he was driving her crazy.

She noticed his toned muscles whenever he conducted a construction project around the house. It was hardest to control herself whenever he bent over and gave her a solid view of his butt. Every tendon strained under his shirt, and Lorelai wondered how any of his shirts could possibly remain intact and not be ripped asunder.

But it was more than just the physicality of her baby's father that was driving her mad. He was so good with the children, taking the brunt of nightly feedings and diaper changes without complaint. Lorelai had needed to fight him for the thankless tasks more than once. Also... he was just so wonderful with Rory; Luke treated her no differently than he treated their son.

So it was, one early spring day, as Lorelai glanced out the bathroom window, to observe Luke fixing the porch railing. She felt her face growing very hot and a cramp start to settle between her legs. Washing her hands at the sink, she growled in frustration at her flushed reflection and flicked some errant water droplets against the mirror. Damn it!

Stalking into her bedroom, Lorelai laid flat on her back and pulled down her pants. Hiking up the hem of her shirt just a little, she dipped one finger into herself and began to stroke her clit madly, keening into her fingers as she worked up a rhythm. All the while, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she moaned, imagining that it was Luke's incredible organ doing this to her. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter, remembering that magical night, the night they had conceived their son, and she soon heard the protesting creak of the bed as she practically flopped around in the exertion of pleasuring herself.

"Mmmm... Ohhh... Luke..."

"OH GOD! I'm so sorry!"

Lorelai's eyes popped open at the distinct baritone, her head snapping to the door, her nearly full hand sunk inside herself mid-stroke. Luke was gaping at her, even as she just caught his eyes snapping shut in his desperation to look away. Doing a rather stiff about-face, Luke tired to grope towards the door and make a hasty exit with his eyes still shut.

"Wait!" Lorelai cried, nearly rolling and falling off the bed in her scramble to get up. She hated how desperate she sounded, even to her own ears.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know you wanted to be alone," Luke apologized without even turning around, much less opening his eyes.

"I don't want to be alone," Lorelai gasped, her breasts heaving.

That got him. Luke turned around and even dared to open his eyes again, even as he resolutely refused to look at Lorelai anywhere from the waist down. Lorelai did her best at an encouraging smile, her embarrassment fading to be replaced by desperate lust.

"Come here," she crooned.

Luke cautiously approached, his gaze intensely on her face, drifting to the edge of the bed. As soon as he was within reach, Lorelai pounced, tackling him onto the mattress and kissing him everywhere. It took a moment for Luke to respond, or to even come around and accept how horny she was - and all for him! Lorelai quickly sat astride his hips and guided him to her, jamming his manhood a little roughly up into herself. She bounced up and down, her hips snapping and grinding and with Luke in absolute awe beneath her.

Lorelai smiled shyly down at Luke, even as she gripped his strong biceps as they encircled her frame. "Don't hold back," she pleaded.

"Oh..." Luke moaned like a ghost and took the lead in thrusting up into her. At last, with a wailing cry, Lorelai came, the sweetness of the sound causing Luke to go careening off the proverbial cliff himself.

The pair lay together for a few moments, sweaty, panting, Lorelai placing loving kisses into Luke's chest. "I think I love you," she whispered, his chest hairs tickling her mouth.

Luke exhaled what sounded like a happy sigh and attacked Lorelai's lips. She was just eagerly kissing him back when -

The doorbell rang, waking up the baby in the process. Luke growled like a caged animal, and reluctantly tore himself away from the bed. "If it's Kirk, I'm gonna kill him..."

Luke moved downstairs to the front door, while Lorelai rushed for the nursery to calm the baby. But when Luke yanked open the door, only just remembering then that he was in nothing but his boxers, Kirk was mercifully not there to have his eyes burned by the sight before his likely murder.

A little girl was there instead, looking no more than 8 years old. Luke suppressed a groan. She wasn't wearing a uniform, but there was only one explanation for a girl to be here at this time of day, and not in school: Girl Scouts.

"I'll take the Mint Chocolate Chip. What do I need to fill out?" Luke sighed, blindly extending out to the girl a $20 bill. Though he was rather unenthusiastic about town events, and having only recently warmed to some children largely thanks to Rory and the birth of his own son, Luke recalled his mother telling him not to be stingy when it came to acts of charity.

The girl sent him a look of confusion behind horn-rimmed glasses. "I don't want any money," she explained in a small voice, shouldering the backpack across her petite frame. "And I'm not a Girl Scout."

"Well, who are you, then?" Luke inquired, trying not to have the patience run out in his voice, even though he was anxious to get back to Lorelai and resume their lovemaking once William was back to sleep.

The girl bravely stepped forward, staring right up into his face. "Hi, we've never met. You were in a relationship a long time ago with my mother, Anna Nardini. My name is April. I'm your daughter."

* * *

Luke couldn't recall moving back into the house, or even letting April in. Lorelai was the one who had moved him to the easy chair in the sitting room, after hearing Luke's scream from all the way upstairs and terrified that it would wake William up all over again.

Even with his mind in a haze, Luke had been intensely focused in his scrutiny of April. now perched in the couch across from him, a glass of milk in her hand provided by Lorelai.

She certainly _looked_ like Anna - the shape of the face, for one thing. Even her voice was similar, if more precocious, chirpier. But as for him... Luke could find no traces of himself, of the Danes DNA, try as he might. No resemblance. Then again, he had never had much of a talent for detecting the resemblance of a child to its parent in much of anybody. Rory was easy because she was practically a clone of her mother, with bits and pieces of what could only be Christopher that only enhanced her beauty. And Jess had sadly inherited much of the Mariano looks; Luke seethed at the thought of that deadbeat, Jimmy.

But this girl was an enigma. If she was a blend of him and Anna, perhaps she got his recessive genes - which, Luke had to self-deprecatingly admit, was maybe just as well. He hoped William looked more Gilmore than Danes as he grew, though he had never voiced this thought aloud to Lorelai.

At last, Luke broke the silence with a shake of his head. "No. Not possible - Anna and I never had a kid."

It was a denial, but it was weak; he could hear it in his own voice. And April seemed unfazed as she rose off the sofa and procured a document from her backpack. "My birth certificate," she explained, sounding as clinical as a FBI agent having already won her case and wrapped it up with a nice little bow.

"Birth certificate," Luke repeated, taking the envelope and opening its contents. Cool as could be, April crossed to the kitchen and politely deposited her empty glass, thanking Lorelai for the hospitality as if she was merely dropping in for a casual Howdy-do. Tuning out the women's discussion, Luke read the certificate line by line:

"April Elizabeth Nardini. Born April 15th, 1993. Mother: Anna Nardini. Father: Lucas Danes..."

* * *

Lorelai had left a half an hour ago to make the rounds, first picking up Jess from Stars Hollow High, then making the drive to Hartford to get Rory at Chilton. Luke had stayed behind to drill April for information. So far, he could poke no holes in her story, and he was coming around to an acceptance that this development was, in fact, real. The producing of the birth certificate had been a game-changer, and the document appeared genuine.

"Why didn't your mother tell me about you?"

April flushed, sounding sad as she admitted, "She always said you hated kids. That was about the only thing she would tell me whenever I asked about my father; she only gave me your name fairly recently." A small smile graced her face. "She's gonna flip when she finds out you have a baby."

"It wasn't planned," Luke muttered, only half to himself. "You'll understand when you're older," he placated when April sent him an unnervingly curious expression.

Lorelai arrived with the older kids in tow. It had been advantageous for her to do the school collecting, so she could break the news to Jess and Rory gently. The boy took the announcement that he had another cousin surprisingly well, even if April's quirky ways and amazingly advanced vocabulary threw him. On the whole, Jess seemed bemused by the little girl's presence.

"We should hang out sometime. William's still too young to do much of anything," he offered to April.

Rory looked offended. "And what am I, your next-door neighbor?"

"From one floor below and down the hall, yes."

April held court at the head of the round table. "My mom's moving to New Mexico. She's marrying this guy who... isn't exactly interested in being a stepfather, or even a parent in general. That's why Mom finally gave me your identity," she swiveled to Luke. "If you guys don't have the bandwidth to take me in right now, I understand. I'll figure something out."

The last phrase sent Luke snapping into action. "You will do nothing of the sort, young lady," he demanded in as paternalistic a voice as he could muster (to his right, he noticed Rory subtly smirk; he had used that voice with her on more than one occasion - a firmly affectionate one that she found rather cute). "You're staying here, but I will be having a talk with your mom. I want at least partial custody of you."

"She'll sign the papers," April was confident in her assessment. "You don't have to worry about that. But I really can stay?"

"Yes," Luke's voice left no room for argument. To his astonishment, April leaped up, rounded the table and hugged him. After a moment, Luke returned the gesture. April then scampered off to find a phone and call her mother, begin the process of moving in from Woodbridge.

Luke immediately began making a list at the table, even as the house came to life around him, resuming its normal pace as Rory and Jess peeled off to begin homework, Lorelai flitting upstairs just once to check on the baby. When she returned, she hugged Luke from behind in a gesture very intimate - an intimacy that Luke would have to get used to, now that there was an unspoken agreement between himself and the mother of his... second child that they were in a romantic relationship.

Under her gentle touch, Luke fumed: "How could Anna be so irresponsible? Never mind not telling me, she's just handing off April? So she can follow some guy? I'm not just April's baby-sitter; I'm her father!"

Lorelai kissed his temple. "People do crazy, selfish things; take it from someone who grew up in the world of Crazy and Selfish." She bit her lip as she tried to work out her next thought. "What are you feeling?"

"What am I supposed to feel, Lorelai? I've had a son for four and a half-months, come to find out I've already _been_ a father for eight years, and just for effect, let's make her birthday on Tax Day, because why the hell not?" He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "Another mouth to feed... I hate to burden you like this; I know Jess is still not the easiest guy in the world to get along with..."

Lorelai kissed him deeply to shut him up. "Luke, April is your daughter. Your family. We don't turn our backs on family. And now, with William, we are all tied together."

"But where are we going to _put_ her?" Luke almost moaned. "There's no room! I could build an extension on the house, but you would have to be OK with it, of course. And do we even have the money, with what we're paying for Chilton...?"

"Have April bunk with Rory," Lorelai shrugged. "At least until we figure something out. My daughter won't mind sharing."

Luke beamed at Lorelai with thankfulness and pure adoration. It wasn't the worst idea in the world. Rory was a damn fine kid, easy to love and eager to please. The arrangement would work through at least the summer, while he and Lorelai worked out what to do next.

* * *

For the rest of the school year, April moved her things over to the Gilmore-Danes-Mariano residence. By the time summer vacation arrived, she had set up shop in half of Rory's room, with an air mattress on the floor until Luke could pool the funds for a real bed. Although, he was beginning to consider just building one himself.

Luke felt bad about having to transfer April out of Martin Van Buren Elementary School, and enrolling her in Stars Hollow Elementary down the street from her older cousin. Having to chauffeur one kid to Hartford was bad enough; the trek to Woodbridge was an even more unforgiving commute.

Anna Nardini signed the custody papers just before her wedding and move immediately thereafter; in what Luke perceived was an apologetic olive branch, he was given an invitation to the nuptials, which he politely declined. The shared custody agreement stipulated that Luke and Anna would split major holidays, with a trade-off on April's birthday every other year. Luke winced at the thought of having to place his daughter on a six and a half hour flight (and that was in the best of circumstances) to Albuquerque, but if that was what it took for him to be in his daughter's life... his heart and his pocketbook could take the hit.

As April settled into Stars Hollow, Luke spent whatever spare moment he could learning about her, catching up on how much he had missed. She loved swimming and science. Luke found himself bursting with pride when he learned she had been one of the stars of the swim team over in Woodbridge ("that's the Danes in her," he would tell anyone who would listen). He had no idea where the scholastic interest came from, but figured those more cerebral traits were all Anna.

Which seemed to make her co-habitation with Rory the most natural fit. Both girls were fine students, and maybe they would bond over their school subjects. However, Luke quickly came to discover that this would not be enough to keep tensions from ever rearing their ugly heads.

Rory had been accustomed to sharing, but only with her mother. And that had been back in a potting shed that was never meant to be lived in - a structure that the Gilmores had vacated nearly a decade ago. So the prospect of having to share her own room was jarring on Rory, to say the least.

Tensions exploded unexpectedly one summer morning, as April was unpacking some final items from her moving boxes. Unsure where to appropriately put a fully operational microscope, April saw a wedge of space on Rory's desk as the only logical depository. Entering from the kitchen, Rory saw the giant contraption taking up an entire corner of her desk and frowned.

"That comes off," she ordered prissily. April frowned.

"But I need desk space. Where else can I do my homework when school starts?"

"You could spread out on the floor. I do that sometimes, to stretch out my muscles. Or go work at the kitchen table; that's where Jess is."

April didn't warm to either suggestion. "But I always do my homework in my room! It keeps me thinking clearly."

"Well, you're going to have to find something else! We have only one desk in here, and it's mine!"

"There's no need to be parsimonious!" April snapped.

Only Rory Gilmore could have understood the lofty word and perceived it as an insult. How dare this little brat imply she was selfish! "You take that back, do you hear me?!"

Rory lunged at April, the girls shrieking as they tumbled to the floor in a vicious cat-fight. Hearing the commotion from outside, Luke and Lorelai rushed into the girls' room to find a piercing argument punctuated by awkward hand-slaps.

"April Elizabeth!" Luke bellowed,trying to make himself heard over the din. "What is going on?"

April pointed at Rory, pouting. "Rory won't let me share her desk! I have to put my microscope somewhere!"

Luke rounded on Rory. "Lorelai Leigh, I am surprised at you! I told you you would need to share for a little while, and I certainly expected more from you!"

Rory wilted under Luke's stern tone, never mind that he had used her full name. He had never gotten this stern with her for as long as she had known him. Lip quivering, her eyes filled with tears; she hated to have disappointed him. Turning sheepishly to April, she murmured with shame, "I'm sorry. You can use my desk whenever you need it; just... please check with me first."

April nodded, deciding that she could live with that. "Thanks. I'm... sorry I called you parsimonious."

As the two girls shook hands, Luke glanced to Lorelai in confusion. "Parsi- _what_ -tius? I don't even know what that word means!"

* * *

"WHOO! Go, April!" The cry yanked Luke sharply out of a deep sleep. Propping himself up in bed, his bleary eyes focused in on his girlfriend and lover over by her desk and the one computer on it, the blue light stinging the darkness.

"What are you doing? You wanna wake the baby? It's one in the morning!" groaning as he checked the digital clock on the nightstand.

"And it's 10 PM in Albuquerque! April's heat is finally up! Thank God they streamed the meet over the Internet!" Lorelai suddenly let out a shriek as she turned back to the screen. "She's pulling ahead - SHE OUT-TOUCHED HER! Gold medal in the 100 freestyle! Yay, April!"

Lorelai's shouts must have awoken the rest of the house, for a pounding of feet could suddenly be heard. Next moment, Rory and Jess burst in, the latter wielding a bat.

"Who screamed?" Jess demanded, his green eyes scanning for any danger.

"Wendy Handler over here," Luke growled, as he dragged himself out from under the blankets to join Lorelai by the desk.

"Look at her so cute in her swimsuit!" Lorelai gushed.

Luke had to crack a smile. "Yeah, thank God she got Anna's genes."

"She'll be a real beauty one day, Uncle Luke," Jess sat back on the bed, the bat across his knees. "You're gonna have to beat them boys away with a stick!"

"He'll have had me for practice," Rory chirped.

Luke kissed Lorelai on the cheek. "You're the only woman I know who would wait up to watch her stepdaughter's swim meet at one in the morning."

Lorelai turned, startled at the term. Realizing what he had said, Luke tried to backpedal. "I... I mean... you're kind of like April's stepmom; I mean, with our living situation..."

"I want to be," Lorelai suddenly got out.

Luke blinked. "What?"

"I want to be. April's stepmom," Lorelai clarified. And then, in the next moment: "Will you marry me?"

Luke gaped at her, stunned. He didn't notice Rory's mouth comically drop open, or how Jess dropped the bat in surprise and nearly fell off the bed himself. But then, Luke was yanking Lorelai into his arms and kissing her until she could scarcely breathe, and right in front of Rory and Jess. Lorelai moaned and climbed his body like a tree, folding her legs about his waist.

"Do you mean it?" Luke gasped when they broke apart.

"Yeah, I mean it! I love you," Lorelai breathed. "And I love April. And OK..." she smirked in Jess's direction affectionately, her eyes twinkling. "Your nephew's grown on me. So: will you...?"

"Yes."

"But I haven't finished asking..."

"Yes."

"Well, you can take a minute to..."

"No." Luke kissed her soundly again. "I would love to marry you."

* * *

The wedding was held on the grounds of the Independence Inn that October of 2002, about five months after April moved in. Lorelai looked stunning in a strapless white gown. Rory was a bridesmaid, April the flower girl, baby William the ring bearer escorted in Sookie's arms. Jess stood by his uncle as the Best Man, taking over holding his infant cousin after the rings had been presented. Reverend Skinner and Rabbi Barans jointly officiated; Lorelai and Luke shared each other's ambivalence towards religion, and possessed with a deep sense of fairness, wanted as many people from the town as possible to be included in the ceremony.

The two ministers blessed them and Luke and Lorelai sealed their marriage to cheers after being pronounced husband and wife. Watching the sight, Rory suddenly gasped, her eyes shining with moisture as the full reality quite suddenly hit her in the face.

"Your dad just kissed my mom," she whimpered in a small voice.

"Your mom just kissed my dad," April echoed. Turning to each other, the new stepsisters burst into tears at the witnessing of their parents getting married, falling into each other's arms.

Bouncing baby William, Jess gawked at the spectacle from his cousin and now step-cousin. "What the heck's the matter with you two?" he scolded, earning himself much girlish slapping.


	5. Chapter 5: Gigi

**Chapter 5: Gigi**

Luke and Lorelai departed for a lovely honeymoon in Hawaii - a gift pooled together by Lorelai's colleagues at the Inn. While the newlyweds were gone, Jess was left in charge of the family. Luke was confident in this decision, having watched his nephew grow up over the past year and finding a purpose in his life, and even more so in their family unit.

"You prove yourself to be the man of the house, and I'll bring you back a man's gift," Luke promised. And he was better than his word: Jess could hardly believe his eyes when Lorelai's Jeep pulled back into the Crap Shack's driveway two weeks later, towing behind it a used, second-hand Mercedes. It wasn't much - a point Luke took great pains to tell him - but it ran well. And Jess was so happy to have any kind of car, he didn't care how fancy it might, or in this case, might _not_ be.

And the real test would turn out to be Lorelai bringing the whole family in tow to Friday Night Dinner at the Gilmore mansion. Since her pregnancy, she and Rory had stayed resolute in their tradition of going alone, just the two of them, wanting to spare Luke, and then Jess and then April, from judgement. But now that the household unit had seemed to gel, Lorelai felt it was time to introduce her husband and new children to her parents.

Emily and Richard Gilmore had not attended the wedding, though to his credit, Richard had seemed pained to miss out, obviously pressured into the decision by Emily. The Gilmore matriarch had spared no expense in tracking down the identity of the father of her second grandchild, even after Lorelai refused to tell her upon revealing that she was pregnant. Needless to say, Lorelai's choice of a mate had been displeasing to her.

And Emily's mood did not improve upon seeing the motley crew her new son-in-law brought along with him. Lorelai could feel her mother judging Jess ruthlessly, and was proud of how perceptive the boy was in recognizing the condescending tone behind Emily's seemingly innocent remarks about schooling, and what do you want to be when you grow up. Even more admirable was how Jess refused to rise to the bait as the Gilmores pressed him with questions. Sitting next to her nephew, Lorelai patted his knee encouragingly. As for April, her existence seemed to prove to Emily that Luke was some kind of serial womanizer, sleeping with single women and getting them pregnant. Lorelai had to stifle the laughter at such hypocrisy, for it could be sooner argued that Christopher fit this description better than her husband. Besides, she had heard Christopher had a new girlfriend - and an even more wild story that he was about to be tied to her even more closely...

Lorelai sometimes thought that her merely thinking of Christopher had the power to will him into being, for who should appear in the middle of that very dinner but the father of her first-born. And from the look on his face, he did not seem to be there to exchange pleasantries. In fact, he didn't even acknowledge the rest of Lorelai's new, sprawling family, though he had heard about the wedding, same as everyone else.

When Christopher asked to speak to Lorelai out in the hall, she relished the challenge, stalking after him. They had needed to have their discussions before, with a shared child, but she had the feeling that this one was not going to be pretty. And right now, Lorelai wasn't really in the mood for it.

"I promise I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Yeah, I believe that," Chris muttered,

"Hey, I've never lied to you. There's no reason to doubt my word."

"Really? And not returning any of my phone calls isn't a reason?"

"No -"

"You shutting me out like this, while you get your perfect little dream ending, is wrong."

"I'm not discussing this with you..."

"You don't get to dictate this! I tried to contact you, you wouldn't call me back, so I did what I had to do. And I'm sorry, but after everything we've been through, you shutting me out is WRONG. And you know what hits me the hardest, Lore?"

"Apparently it isn't the door on your way out," she snapped smartly.

"You keeping Rory from me."

As much as she tried to hide it, this shot against Lorelai's bow incensed her. It was so galling, coming from Chris, when he was never there to begin with! "What?"

"I never, _ever_ thought you'd do that!"

"I'm not keeping Rory from you!"

"Well, then why hasn't she called me back, huh? I mean, no matter where you and I have been in our lives, my daughter has always returned my calls! Until now."

All at once, Rory flounced in from the dining room. "I didn't call you back because I didn't want to! Mom had nothing to do with it! You promised me, that night after we saw your parents, that you were going to be there! You promised me!"

"Honey, please understand..." Chris begged.

"No! I _always_ understand! And I don't want to understand! And I have Luke now, so I don't need you! Go be somebody else's dad!"

The mention of the new man in Lorelai's life made Christopher steam, even as hearing it from his little girl's mouth made his heart break. "Don't say that!"

"I'm going upstairs - call me when he's gone."

Christopher turned back to Lorelai as Rory disappeared. "She did not get there by herself..." he growled low.

"Hey, have you even _met_ your daughter? She can get _anywhere_ by herself! She could get to the third _dimension_ by herself! She was helping out the crossing guard when she was four!"

"I'm going to talk to her..."

"No, you're not! She needs time to be alone and cool off! Respect that! I'll talk to her later."

"That makes me feel loads better..."

"Ok, you need to leave..."

"This isn't right!" Chris stalked after Lorelai's retreating back. "She needs her father!"

"I know she needs her father!" Lorelai faced him down. "I've been telling her she needs her father. But she feels like her father bailed on her and she's mad and hurt and I can't change that in three minutes!"

"Do you think I _like_ this situation? Do you? After what we had going as kids...?"

"Chris, do you remember why we're here right now? What _event_ in your life caused this very pleasant moment we're sharing?" Lorelai sarcastically scoffed.

"That has nothing to do with this!"

Lorelai gaped. Nothing to do with this? Did he even _hear_ himself? "Uhh, Chris... man!" She wanted to wring his neck.

"I want to talk!"

"About what?"

"I don't know, I just... I don't like how things are."

"But that's how they are!" Lorelai stressed.

"I didn't want things to turn out this way!"

"But they _did_ turn out this way!"

"But I didn't _want that_!" Chris stayed stuck in the same circuitous line of thought. Lorelai could only pity him. In a way, Christopher had never grown up, remaining suspended in time as a 16-year-old, trapped in a teenager's mindset. It was why Lorelai had needed to abandon her friend and strike out with Rory on her own, when he had failed to figure out what the hell to do or how to deal, despite how much the decision pained her at the time. All she could think to do now to help him was to deal him out a little tough love. Finding that Rory's approach had shaken him, maybe a little prodding from her, Lorelai, could push Chris in a productive direction.

"Christopher: is your girlfriend still pregnant?"

"Of course she is!"

"Are you still with her?"

"Yes!"

"Are you going to marry her?"

A slight pause before: "Yes!"

"Then, _honey_ ," the term of endearment sounding just like how she might say it to Jess or Luke. "we _are_ where we are! Accept it!"

" _I can't_!"

"Christopher." The pair turned to see Emily standing like a sentinel in the doorway to the dining room, Luke and the other kids crowding behind her. It was clear from the looks on their faces they had heard everything. Lorelai and Chris hadn't exactly been conscientious about lowering their voices. Swiveling her head around, Lorelai saw her daughter on the stairs, the stunned expression on her face making it clear she had heard the development too.

"You need to leave. Now," Emily ordered Christopher.

With a labored sigh, Christopher stalked from the mansion. Only Lorelai's hand on his arm stayed him. "Give it time," she encouraged him gently. He nodded heavily, then moved for his motorcycle.

Lorelai drifted back over towards her family, smiling apologetically, feeling Rory's presence moving behind her.

"Is it true?" Everyone's heads moved as one at the sound of Rory's voice. "Am I really getting another sibling?"

Lorelai gave a weighted nod of affirmation.

"Because this family isn't complicated enough!" Jess groused facetiously. His crack failed to lighten the mood. He craned his neck to watch out the window as Christopher's motorcycle moved off into the night, nodding with approval at the make. "2000 Indian. Leather jacket. A man after my own heart!"

Lorelai laid a gentle hand on his shoulder, even though he voice was firm. "You're ten _times_ the man he is." Jess blinked, taken aback by the sincerity he heard in his aunt's voice, but smiled, appreciating the compliment just the same. Only Lorelai noticed how her words still seemed to sting Rory, despite her blow-up at her father earlier.

Dinner ended soon after and silently, the troupe made their way to Lorelai's Jeep. It was a squeeze to fit everybody, but after the drama of the evening, everyone felt the need to be close to each other. Most of the drive passed by in silence, Rory staring resolutely out the window at the pounding rain against the glass, not saying a word. April finally broke the silence.

"Rory's dad seems... troubled," she observed as only a budding scientist could. Through the rearview mirror, Luke sent her a hairy eyeball in an attempt to silence his daughter, worried how it might affect the Gilmore Girls. In deference, April quickly tried to apologize. "I'm sorry, I..."

"Oh, sweetheart - it's OK," Lorelai soothed. "I've known Rory's daddy for so long. He's... he means well, he's just..." But unable to find an appropriate description for the situation, for Christopher's disposition, her voice trailed off awkwardly.

Silence reigned in the vehicle again. But even against the merciless drumming of the rain, Lorelai could have sworn she heard a stewing Rory mutter, "No he doesn't..."

* * *

Despite the familial brawl, Rory and Lorelai started to return more of Christopher's calls, not because they particularly wanted to talk to him, but because he was the only vessel through which they could glean information about the new baby.

Christopher's girlfriend was Sherry Tinsdale, a successful business executive. They had been dating for over a year, Christopher claiming that he had meant to come by Stars Hollow to introduce her to the Gilmore Girls properly, but he had never gotten around to it. Besides, the upheaval of the wedding and April, etc. had left him figuring the timing would not have been appropriate. Lorelai had to at least silently praise Christopher for this, as he was never normally this considerate (even if it was in a roundabout way).

As the months progressed and the blended Gilmore household fell into a rhythm, the updates on Sherry's pregnancy came fast and furious: the baby was a girl, so Rory would be getting a half-sister. She was due in the winter, after the first of 2003. It seemed that the baby's progress was all Christopher could talk about at a certain point, and his calls to the Crap Shack within a few months soon exceeded the number he had placed there within the previous several years. This statistic was not lost on either Lorelai or Rory.

April took a special interest in the information on the pregnancy that she heard second-hand from her stepmother and stepsister. Being a girl of science, she asked very specific questions about the fetus, running the numbers. Lorelai and Rory relayed what they could to Chris, pretending the questions were coming from them, before passing the information back to April. Unless, of course, the inquiry was just too awkward. Needless to say, Luke found all of this incredibly amusing.

After the Christmas holidays, as Rory turned to her final semester at Chilton, Sherry invited Lorelai and Rory up to Boston for the birth. Apparently, her corporate mindset had extended into the delivery of her first child, as she had set aside a time block on the baby's due date in which to give birth. Lorelai bit her tongue at this, finding the strategy completely insane and unworkable. "She does know the baby doesn't have a color-coded schedule, right?" she asked Rory, who just roared with laughter at the very idea of trying to control and plan the day one's child was born. But they set aside the weekend the baby was supposed to be due for a road trip up to Boston.

Even so, it came as no surprise to either of the girls that Sherry went into labor two days early, on a Friday instead of a Sunday. The blended Gilmore household scrambled, Lorelai picking Rory up early from Chilton.

"Sorry to wreck our weekend, babe," she apologized into the phone, as the Jeep flew down the highway to the Connecticut state line. "What are the rest of you going to do?"

"I thought I'd take the others fishing, up at my parent's cabin," Luke suggested. "We'll stay close to the shoreline so we can still get your calls. April wants updates on dilation or something," His voice was dry.

Lorelai winced at the request, even as the thought of Jess and April and the baby stuck with Luke in the middle of a lake made her bite back a laugh. "The baby has to be completely secured. And bundled up!"

"On it," Luke affirmed. "I'll lash his car seat to the floor of the boat if I have to!"

Hearing this through the receiver, Rory eyed her mother. "They're bringing William on a fishing trip? Are they crazy?"

Lorelai gave a shrug as if to say, _Where else are they gonna put him?_ "All right, but have Jess and April watching him, OK? Have fun. Call you when we get to the hospital. I love you."

By the time the Gilmore Girls arrived in Boston, Sherry had been in labor for several hours, according to close friends and colleagues. The delivery was still a significant time off.

And most ludicrous of all: Christopher still wasn't there.

This time, on today of all days, Lorelai's persistent phone calls to him went unanswered. Afternoon soon turned to evening and then night, until Lorelai and Rory were the only ones left in the hospital room with an increasingly anxious Sherry.

Just before the nurses were going to wheel the expecting mother back, Christopher burst in. He offered up no explanation for his tardiness even after Lorelai sent him a withering glare, and the thought did not even seem to cross Sherry's mind, though she had been concerned for her fiance for most of the night.

Christopher went back with Sherry while the Gilmore Girls waited in the waiting room. In the interim, Rory fell asleep. Lorelai kept herself busy by trying to call her husband, but she couldn't get through. And Luke made no attempts to call her back. She shook her head of her worry, assuring herself that the rest of her family was fine - hell, they were probably in bed. But she had figured maybe at least Luke would stay up to ask for any updates.

Rory was still passed out as the clock neared midnight. But before a new day could be chimed in, Christopher appeared in scrubs.

"Lore!" The expression on his face could light up the sun. "I'm a Dad again!"

Lorelai smiled weakly. "Congratulations, Chris."

"I want you to see her. Don't wake Rory, she can see Gigi later."

The pair went into the hall, towards the wall of windows displaying the newborns. Christopher could hardly describe the experience to Lorelai, of watching his child being born. Considering he hadn't been there at all for Rory's birth, Lorelai had to at least count Sherry lucky.

While Lorelai and Christopher stood admiring Georgia "Gigi" Hayden, Lorelai's phone rang at last. "Oh thank the flipping Lord! Hello?"

Her husband's voice sounded tired and frazzled on the other end. "Worst. Fishing Trip. Ever."

Lorelai gasped. "What? Babe, what happened?"

"First, I can't get signal reception from where we were parked near the shoreline. And then the fish weren't biting, so Jess suggests I take her farther out. So we do, and right in the middle of the lake, the engine dies after April's line gets _stuck_ in it! There are no other crafts around us, the sun is going down, so we start yelling for help. And to top it all off, I forgot to pack William's formula in the boat, so then he starts crying and fussing! The water's freezing-ass cold, so we can't swim for the dock that's probably 200 feet away! Finally, it's dark, and this yellow boat comes along with a spotlight - they're a SeaTow, apparently, and they have to tow our boat the 200 feet back to our dock at like 20 miles per hour. We just got on land."

Lorelai had to bite back a sympathetic smile at her husband's rant. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry, you all must be exhausted. Get everyone to bed, OK? The baby is here, out in the world, and I will tell you more in the morning. I love you."

"Love you too," Luke growled before hanging up.

* * *

That spring, Rory graduated from Chilton. She accepted an offer to attend Yale University in the fall. The milestone prompted Lorelai to ask Jess about his future plans, since he had finished at Stars Hollow High the previous spring, around the time April moved in. In that time, Jess had been working at a nearby WalMart, even winning employee of the month.

"I don't want to go back to school, Aunt Lorelai!" Jess insisted that he was fine. "I felt trapped enough in high school!"

The next several years passed quickly. William grew from a cute little baby into an even cuter toddler, starting preschool early (the same time Rory started her junior year, pursuing a career in journalism). The youngest child of the household turned 4 that November.

Christmas of 2005 saw everyone gathered at the Crap Shack on Maple Street. By now, Jess had moved out of the Gilmore home and had taken over the old loft above his uncle's diner, where he would spend his evenings feverishly writing his first novel, beginning his dream of becoming a writer. Rory was home from Yale, asking April all kinds of questions about how 7th grade was treating her, and promising Luke that he would get to meet her boyfriend, Logan Huntsberger, over Spring Break.

As Lorelai was trying to get her family to join in some caroling, there was a sudden and insistent pounding on the door. She stopped and stared when she saw who it was.

Christopher Hayden looked as though he hadn't slept in days, if not weeks. He was sporting an overgrown beard, and instead of the confident swagger he usually possessed, he appeared weak-chinned and feeble. His eyes darted about wildly; he looked downright panicked.

In the years since Gigi's birth, Lorelai and Rory had once again lost most contact with Chris, hearing only bits and pieces about him from Emily and Richard. More of the blips of intelligence were bad than good. Christopher and Sherry had broken up before they could get married, agreeing to shared custody of their daughter, but with Sherry taking the brunt of the rearing duties. Last Lorelai had heard, both young parents were in Boston, Christopher in a one-bedroom apartment.

But now, Christopher was on Lorelai's front steps, with a bundled up, two-and-a-half year old Gigi in his arms.

"I can't do it, Lore!" and he seemed to be almost rambling. "The finances, the child care, and I'm looking for another job... I just can't do it!"

"Chris, honey, calm down! What happened? Where's Sherry?"

"In Paris! She took a huge job offer over there and left Gigi with me! Just chose some high-paying gig over her own daughter! I can't do it, Lore! It's been a month, and I don't know what the hell is going on! Here:" And before Lorelai could say anything else, he was pushing Gigi into her arms. "I think she would be better off with the Master Parent. You always know what to do, Lore! Take care of her." And he was sprinting into the winter storm.

"Chris, come back!" Lorelai howled against the wind, but the squealing of tires was already peeling away. Taking one glance down at Gigi, Lorelai sighed and moved them both back into the house, where Rory, April, Jess and Luke all began to pepper her with stunned questions.

And just like that, Luke and Lorelai went from four kids to five...

* * *

Gigi did not adjust well to life in Stars Hollow at first. In her initial weeks there, she was a demanding toddler, which made Lorelai lose confidence (if she had any left to begin with) in Christopher's parenting skills. Had he simply thrown up his hands and let Gigi do whatever she wanted whenever she made a fuss? Thankfully, with some strategically placed discipline, as the weeks dragged into months, Gigi became a much more well-behaved child.

The little girl bonded well with her other siblings, especially April and William, as they were the ones under the same roof with her the most regularly. Upon graduation from Yale in 2007, Rory moved up to New York City to begin her career. Jess stayed right down the street in the Diner loft, got his first short novel published and began work in a bookstore in Hartford.

Meanwhile, Gigi was drawn the most towards, and bonded the best with, none other than Luke. She quickly began looking up to him as a father figure, and when she wasn't in elementary school, spent long hours helping him where she could in the Diner. For his part, Luke always showed a heightened concern for Gigi's safety, especially in and around the kitchen. But eventually, he began to tutor her in how to cook, teaching her everything he knew.

They started small, of course, with simple recipes, as Lorelai observed one day at her lunch hour. Peeking through the order window, she watched as Luke mentored Gigi by the stove, on which sat a skillet that they were filling with batter.

"Just pour it in there..." Luke's voice was rumbling and soothing and unusually tender. "And that's the magic of Gigi's pancakes." Middle-aged man and little girl shared a smile as Gigi began to mix the batter.

"Will they be all fluffy and brown?"

"Why, sure, if you cook them right..."

* * *

Lorelai had trouble hanging up the phone, her hands were shaking so much. Her husband took the receiver from her to hang it up and then wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.

Christopher wanted Gigi back.

"Who calls at 3:45 in the morning?" Lorelai demanded. "This is a household with small children. Small children who are easily woken by loud, obnoxious ringing. Let me tell you, if you are going to wake up my kids, there had better be a good reason for it. You call at 3:45 in the morning when somebody's dying. Or in jail. Or dying _in_ jail. You don't call to casually chat about travel plans like it's a normal hour of the day. Who's even _up_ at this hour? Besides Jess, but he's writing the next Great American Novel, so even he's grumpy when he has to answer the phone!"

"Where did Christopher say he was?" Luke asked through a yawn.

"You're trying to figure out the time difference, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Don't."

"Right."

Two years ago, Christopher had shown up on the Gilmore doorstep, handed Gigi to Lorelai, and left. The young toddler was the fifth child to live within the Crap Shack's walls in as many years. And even with Luke and Lorelai's combined incomes, finances were strained as it was. But Lorelai didn't think of that, let alone verbalize it. She couldn't. Because she was suddenly a teenager again and it was Rory in her arms. It took more than twenty years, but her worst nightmare finally did catch up with her. Only Luke welcoming Gigi with open arms had been able to break the illusion of standing on that porch in the middle of winter.

"You didn't sign up for this," Lorelai had said, offering Luke the out that he had tried to offer her when first Jess, and then April had come crashing into his life.

"Yes, I did. I signed up for exactly this," Luke had smiled, the decision made and final.

Somehow, it had all worked out. Lorelai should have known that paradise never lasts forever.

"How are we going to explain this to her?"

Luke drew back in what looked like horror, almost to the other side of the bed, mouth hanging open. "You're not seriously thinking of giving her _back_ , are you?"

"No, I'm going to wrap her up and hang her in the back of my closet. She's a little girl, Luke! Not a sweater we borrowed."

"Ever heard of the phrase Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers?" Luke's analogy did not fly over well with Lorelai, even as her heart went out to her husband over what he must have been feeling. "I'm just saying that I don't think we should let Christopher take her just because he wants to."

"Luke, he's her father."

"And that just gives him the right to just come in and take her from us?"

"Well... yes," Lorelai finished lamely, so that the last word fell flat with a THUD.

Luke's nostrils flared, his face hardened. " _I'm_ her father. Not Christopher."

"In the eyes of the law..."

" _Fuck_ the law!" Luke finally exploded. "Tell me I don't love Gigi just as much as I do Will or April or Jess or Rory! Say it to my goddamn face! Tell me how this man who has spent more time with the hobbits than his own child is better father material. Tell me that being a sperm donor is more important than, you know, actual parenting!"

"I know, Luke," Lorelai soothed. "But as much as it doesn't matter to us, it matters to other people."

"Who came up with this stupid rule? _'I'm sorry, sir, but you don't have the same genetic material as this child, therefore it is inconceivable that you could possibly love her more than some stranger who does happen to have the same DNA.'_ Am I missing something here? Is there a biological bonding process essential to being a parent that I'm unaware of? Because I feel just as paternal towards Rory as I do April!"

"God, Luke, you think I don't know that? You _were_ Rory's father when she was growing up. You were always there supporting her and looking out for her even though you had no earthly reason to. And as for me, I will hurt _anyone_ who tells me that I don't love April because I didn't give birth to her!" Hot, angry tears pooled at Lorelai's eyes and her voice shook at the very thought. "But you married Rory's mom and I married April's dad. We can claim them as our own, just as we can for Will. But legally, we have no traditional claim to Gigi. We're just... babysitters that got too attached."

Luke gawped at her. "So Christopher can just come in and take her away from us?"

"NO! She's ours! He can't have her!" April's voice suddenly rang out. Husband and wife jumped in surprise and there they were, gathered at their bedroom door. Their children. All five of them. Even Jess, who had been occasionally taking over the kitchen at night to type while everyone else was asleep, was accounted for with a bleary frown.

"She's ours!" April repeated, wrapping her arms tightly around Gigi, as if fearful that Christopher would swoop in and steal her away right then and there. Rory, with 6-year-old Will plastered to her side, nodded in agreement. Even Luke and Lorelai's son, normally the most mellow and content of children, was sporting what Lorelai had privately termed his 'grumpy, old man Luke' face.

"It's not that simple," Luke tried to placate everyone. "Legally, Christopher is Gigi's father."

"So we take him to court like you would have taken Mom to court so I could stay here, if she had fought you on it." April's 14-year-old logic was disarming, even for someone so incredibly bright as her.

"That's a little different, April," Luke sighed. "As your biological father, I could sue for custody, if it had come down to that."

"I think abandonment is excellent grounds for a custody battle," Rory offered mildly.

"Go spend three years at law school, Rory, and then we'll talk," Luke bantered.

"Lawyers are fascists!" April declared.

"OK, we're all getting way ahead of ourselves here," Lorelai broke in before Luke could work himself into another rant. She separated Gigi from April and knelt down in front of her so that the little girl could look directly into her eyes. "Remember, you are _mine_. Mine to _me_ ," Lorelai's voice broke. "You will always have a home here, you understand? Wherever you go, whatever you do, you can come back here and we'll be waiting for you."

"Like Rory?" Gigi asked. Lorelai looked up at her eldest child and smiled. Home for the holidays, Rory had an apartment with friends Lane Kim and Paris Geller in New York, and was well on her way to becoming an editor at the Times someday.

"Exactly like Rory," Lorelai assured Gigi. "The thing is, sweetheart, your dad wants you to live with him for a while because you're his little girl. And, as much as we all want you to stay here, it's not fair to keep you from your daddy."

"But he's Rory's daddy to and she doesn't have to live with him. Why can't he just come and visit?" Gigi asked with the unfailing logic of an almost five-year-old.

"Because... because..." Lorelai's voice trailed off as she tried to find a good explanation. But she couldn't and her heart was crying out April's battle cry. She cast a helpless glance at her husband as she gathered Gigi into her arms.

"It looks like we've got a fight on our hands," Luke grinned viciously, as April, Rory and Jess shouted their approval. William cheered too, even though he had no idea what was going on.

An hour later, the whole family was gathered around the kitchen table, with a half-awake Richard Gilmore now joining the fray, plotting out a course of action and offering legal advice.

Maybe they were doing the wrong thing. Was Lorelai to judge what kind of parent Christopher might be? Then again, Lorelai pondered, was Richard any less of a father because he wasn't as attentive as Lorelai would have liked? Wouldn't she have resented anyone who tried to take her away from him? On the other hand, comparing Christopher to Richard is both absurd and insulting. Her dad sped his way all the way from Hartford in the middle of the night without stopping for so much as a cup of coffee just because Lorelai needed him when she called. Everyone deserved a father like that.

Luke's hand on her shoulder, Lorelai smiled up at her husband. They were ready to fight for their daughter. And they were going to win.


	6. Chapter 6: Be Somebody

**Chapter 6: Be Somebody**

"To Gigi Danes!" Richard Gilmore crowed, raising his glass for a toast.

The trial had been a hard-fought victory for Lorelai and Luke. They had won the right for custody of Gigi and were waiting for the already-completed adoption papers to be approved by the State of Connecticut.

The fight had not been without its emotional drama, however. No matter her convictions, a part of Lorelai felt guilty for going against her old friend and the father of her first-born child. In some ways, it felt like a betrayal - a point that a crushed and confused Christopher hammered home, especially after the ruling was heard.

"How could you do this to me, Lore?" he had kept asking. "How could you do this to me?" Though he already knew the answer. Lorelai had provided it in critical testimony that called Christopher's fitness to be a parent into question. She had explained the whole sordid history of her getting pregnant with Rory, Christopher running away. How he routinely forgot Rory's birthday and sometimes even forgot to pay child support. But the final, most devastating blow had come from Rory, as she vouched for Luke to be Gigi's father in Christopher's place. Christopher had talked out of turn after his lawyer tried to put forward an objection. "We're your parents, Rory!" he had said, indicating himself and Lorelai.

"No, _they're_ my parents!" And Rory had pointed instead at Lorelai and Luke. "Just be thankful I'm not asking for Luke to adopt me, too - though the thought is tempting."

For her part, Sherry Tinsdale had stayed very quiet throughout the whole proceeding. Though she had seemed to possess no qualms in being the first to abandon her child, she still left the courthouse in a huff.

Now, the whole group was gathered at the Gilmore mansion, Lorelai's now-five children celebrating when the doorbell rang. Ever the hostess, Emily ran to answer it.

In the next moment, however, she wished she hadn't.

Straub Hayden suddenly stormed into the dining room, going straight for Lorelai. "How dare you take away my granddaughter from me! Was destroying Christopher once not enough for you?"

Lorelai's mouth fell open in disbelief. She had not seen Straub in almost seven years, not since that fateful night in 2001, when his obscene words had led her right into the arms of the man who would become her husband and been a catalyst for the conception of Luke Danes's son.

Straub had not been present at the trial. But Lorelai had seen Francine there, and presumed that she went home every night to her lawyer husband to report on the proceedings, particularly the state of the defense. Straub practiced international law, not family law, but nevertheless, the woes of his son would have surely captured his interest.

All Lorelai could do now was regard Straub with a mixture of disbelief and pity. "Why do you care, Straub? Would it have mattered this much to you if Rory had appealed for adoption? You never cared about her - you could barely speak two words to her the one time you met her! And I bet you showed just as little interest in Gigi!"

Her family was huddled together in one corner, Luke's eyes trained on Straub. Hearing the name, he had made the connection that this was Rory and Gigi's paternal grandfather, the asshole who had insulted Lorelai all those years ago.

Lorelai stood up to her full height. "It was never my intention to destroy Christopher, not once or any number of times. Do you know how hard it was for me to take him to court? Do you? But the fact remains, your son has never had what it takes to be a parent, Straub. I will grant you that he gave me the most amazing gift in Rory, and for that I will always be thankful. But after that, he was never there for her, or for Gigi. As soon as you pressured him into a marriage with me - a marriage that he didn't want - he ran. He never learned how to grow up, and I think that blame falls more on you than it does me. But now, his daughters can at least be happy and loved!"

Straub sneered. "And look at you! You've turned your house into the Community Foster Home, with three of these kids not even yours! And married to some grease monkey!"

The implication that April and Gigi (and even, in her heart, Jess) were not hers, plus the broadside against Luke, made Lorelai's blood boil. But the person who snapped was not Lorelai, but Jess, who immediately started for Straub as Luke held him back, though it seemed to be a struggle for the older Danes man to not wring Straub's neck himself. "You take that back, you bastard!"

The imposing frame of Richard Gilmore now appeared in the fray, escorting Straub none too gently towards the door. He had kicked the Hayden patriarch out of his home once; he could do it again. Even as Straub gave one last, parting shot.

"You go ahead and try it, you sleazy little shit! You're the failed son of a drug addict, and that's all you'll _ever_ be!"

* * *

The platform was still and quiet, save for the soft hissing of the waiting locomotive. Jess finalized payment at the ticket counter and thanked the conductor on duty. Shouldering his duffel, he turned to see his aunt and uncle sprinting onto the platform.

"There he is!" Lorelai pointed. "Didn't I tell you I'd find him? It's a mother's instinct."

As was typical when interacting with his wife, Luke struggled to keep up. " _Instinct_? He left a _note_ : _'I'm leaving, meet me at the train station.'_ "

"You are coming home right now, young man!" Lorelai ordered.

"No, Aunt Lorelai," Jess's voice was firm. "I have to do this. I'm going to Philadelphia, and I'm going to be a writer. That douchebag was right - I'm not going to be anything more than Liz Danes's son unless I fight for it myself. I want to make my own mark in the world. I wanna _be_ somebody!"

"You _are_ somebody," Lorelai stressed, grabbing for her nephew's suitcase. "Somebody who's _not_ getting on that train!"

"Luke..." Jess pleaded.

"He's your nephew; talk to him!" Lorelai ordered.

Luke let out a long sigh. Finally, he turned to the teller. "One ticket to Philadelphia."

Lorelai nearly dropped the suitcase. "Where are _you_ going?"

"Not me. Him."

Lorelai's lip quivered, and she fiercely hugged Jess, while his uncle took him aside.

"Jess... did I ever tell you when I was your age I wanted to be a baseball star? I played pretty well, too! But after your grandfather got cancer, I gave up college and stayed in Stars Hollow, eventually opening up my Diner. Now, I'm not saying that my life hasn't turned out pretty damn good..." and he sent a loving look Lorelai's way. "But a part of me has always told myself... if I could do it over again, I would follow my dream." He held out the ticket to Jess. "You go to Philadelphia and you become that writer and share with everyone your creativity. And your family will be waiting right here for you when you need us."

Jess hugged Luke, kissed Lorelai on the cheek, and boarded the train at the final call. Hanging out his window, he waved to his aunt and uncle. "I'll be all right, Uncle Luke. I'll make you proud!"

"I know you will," Luke murmured.

* * *

 **A/N: I know this chapter is way shorter than the others. I considered writing the adoption trial in depth, but writing trials is hard, and I didn't want to get bogged down.**


	7. Chapter 7: Ten Years Later

**Chapter 7: Ten Years Later**

The young author scanned the airport terminal as he disembarked from his flight. Even amidst the cluster of bodies, it only took a moment to pick out the distinctive head of blonde hair.

"Jess!"

Giving a toothy grin, Jess strode forward and swept his surrogate sister into a hug. Gigi was grinning from ear to ear. "Welcome to Paris!" 15-year-old Gigi Danes had been staying in the beautiful French city on a summer program, before she went off to high school at Chilton back home. It was early August, hot and sweltering, and she was anxious for the rest of their group to show up - she was certainly in need of one last vacation before beginning academics again.

"You beat their flight here," Gigi explained to her big brother/older cousin, as she guided Jess to an unobstructed view of a gate several down from where his plane had disembarked. "We have about thirty minutes to wait, and it took off on time, it seems."

Half an hour later, a ragtag group of four adults, a teenager and one baby emerged from the gate. The father looked to be the one most in control, while the mother - true to her fashion - was gabbing a mile a minute and already looking at a map.

"Why did that pilot think it was a good idea to fly us straight into turbulence? Sully would not have approved!"

"Who's Sully?" her husband growled.

"Sullenberger. Miracle on the Hudson. Whited-out Tom Hanks was in the movie. Come on, Butch! Keep up!"

Gigi ran forward, flinging herself into Lorelai's arms. " _Maman_! _Papa_!" she greeted in French.

Luke grinned, dropping his suitcase to envelop his adopted daughter in a huge hug. "Hey, baby!"

There was a roar of pain. "Dad! Watch where you're dropping your stuff!" William Danes hopped from foot to foot, rubbing his stubbed toe. He would be turning 17 that winter, and already had seemed to inherit much of his father's looks, temperament. But his eyes - and his appetite - were all his mother's.

"Get a grip, Will; you're such a girl!" April Nardini admonished. At 25, she had managed to get away from graduate school at the University of Connecticut to join her family on this outing. She knew a thing or two about studying abroad, thanks to a stint in Germany a couple of years before following graduation from MIT. Her mentorship and advice had been much appreciated by Gigi, who now squeezed her sister with a squeal. Seeing who brought up the rear, Gigi pushed forward. "Can I hold her?"

"In a bit - she's sleeping." Rory Gilmore cuddled her infant daughter, Laurie Gilmore, close. The baby had not been planned, resulting from an affair with her former college boyfriend, Logan Huntsberger. But Luke Danes and the rest of his familial crew had made the best of it this last year since the birth, rallying around Rory. Recently, she had accepted a position to teach journalism at Chilton, after successfully publishing a memoir and completing her Master's Degree by night.

Jess hugged each of the girls in turn, Lorelai clinging for a moment longer. Even after being in Philly on his own for a decade, she still worried about him. "Was your flight OK?"

"It was great, Aunt Lorelai, really!" He clapped Luke on the back, ruffled Will's hair. "To the ship!"

The whole blended Danes clan would be spending a week on a Disney Cruise, exploring the highlights of Europe. There would be one French Port-of-Call - the French Riviera - which Gigi promised to guide her family through. Plus, the experience would be more than satisfying for baby Laurie, who already loved all things Disney.

As the group of eight boarded the luxurious liner, the Danes men noticed how many of their fellow male passengers noted the Gilmore Girls, April and Gigi appreciatively.

"We can take 'em if we have to, right, boys?" Luke growled protectively.

"Right!" his son and nephew chorused.

The ship set out to sea that evening, with the Danes clan spending plenty of time exploring the pool deck. Rory stayed in the kiddie's section, glowing as she bounced Laurie in her arms. Will pointed to an almost vertical slide curving around one smokestack - a smokestack which almost burst Luke's eardrum when it suddenly played the first few notes of _"When You Wish Upon a Star."_

"Race you to the Aquadunk!" Will challenged Jess.

After an evening show of _Cinderella_ , the family reported to Rapunzel's Royal Table for the 8:30 meal. They had a table all to themselves, thankfully, and everyone was soon lost in conversation, catching up.

"The boys in France are _so_ dreamy!" Gigi giggled to Rory. Directly across from her, Luke stiffened, his ears on high alert. Seeing this, Jess tried to make light of it by teasing April.

"You'll have to screen any suitors past us guys, huh, April? Any macho hunks catching your eye who we should know about?"

For some reason, April remained focused on her plate.

"Don't worry, Jess, she's not dating anyone - at least no one I know of," Luke sipped from his glass of water.

"But there must be some cute frat guys at UCONN!" Gigi gossiped.

"Geeg, lay off," Luke admonished gently. "Graduate school is pretty busy..."

"Daddy!" April's sudden declaration made everyone quiet down. She was wringing her hands and appeared strangely nervous and uncomfortable. "May I speak with you for a moment, please? Alone?"

Luke frowned, all at once confused and curious, as he nodded. Getting up from the table, father and daughter slipped to the hallway outside the restaurant. When they didn't return for a minute or two, Lorelai rose. "I'm gonna go check on them."

"Mother!" Rory scolded, but Lorelai was already moving away.

Hanging just inside the entrance, Lorelai could see her husband and stepdaughter around the corner. They were hugging intensely.

"I will always love you, April..." Luke was saying. "It doesn't matter to me if you like girls..."

Lorelai gasped, racing back to the table, folding her hands in her lap and appearing very subdued, her mind racing. It made sense for April to come out to her father, but would she tell her? Did she even _want_ to? All at once, Lorelai felt guilty for eavesdropping.

"I told you not to, you know," Rory hissed. Though her mother's current disposition confused her. A moment later, April and Luke returned, neither one of them saying a word.

The meal ended without further excitement. But after the meal... the Danes family was just reaching the exit when another couple that was also leaving sidled up beside them in the steady stream out the doors. Coming face to face with the woman, Gigi froze.

"Mo - Sherry!"

Sherry Tinsdale blinked in surprise as she too appeared paralyzed. It wasn't exactly out of fear, but the awkward tension was still palpable. Gigi kicked herself. The last she had heard, Sherry was still living in France, but had apparently moved out of Paris, relocating near Nice. Even in a big country like France, she should have been prepared for the possibility that she just might encounter her biological mother. But on a cruise ship with her entire adopted family with her? Gigi would never, in her wildest dreams, have imagined that.

"Gigi!" Sherry breathed. She sensed Lorelai and Luke recognizing her, stiffening over Gigi's shoulder. Trying to defuse at least some of the situation, Jess tried to corral Will, April, Rory and the baby out the doors. Luke's arm stopped him. "How... how are you?"

Gigi blinked. "Spectacular," she reported flatly.

"Family vacation, I see?"

"Uh-huh." Gigi's voice remained clipped. "You?"

"Honeymoon," Sherry admitted quietly, indicating the man at her side who was presumably her husband.

"Congratulations," Gigi got out. A pregnant pause and then: "I'll see you around."

* * *

Gigi was the first one into the family's spacious stateroom, her breathing erratic; she wondered if she was hyperventilating. The rest of the troupe followed in behind her, Lorelai ranting even as Luke tried to shush her until they were at least in the privacy of their own room.

"What are the odds? What are the _odds_ that we run into that woman on some boat in the middle of the ocean? Those odds should be as rare as winning at Powerball! Or blackjack! Or Donald Trump being elected President of the United States!"

"Donald Trump _was_ elected President of the United States... unfortunately," Luke grunted the reminder.

"Only cause the Russians did it!" William called out, tossing his sunglasses onto the bed.

Gigi sat heavily at the desk next to the TV. She looked pale, sweaty and tired. "I never thought I'd see her again. I mean, I wondered whether I might bump into her this summer in Paris, even if she has moved, but when I didn't..." She shook her head.

"Paris is a big city, sweetie," Luke tired to reassure her. "And besides, what happened with your mom and... Christopher was a long time ago."

Gigi looked up at her father with sad eyes. "Yeah, but it still hurts inside," she whispered brokenly.

"So, put the hurt somewhere else," April suggested.

Gigi frowned. "How do you mean?"

"You could write a letter to your mom. Put all of what you're feeling right now onto paper. What happens after that is up to you. Send it to her stateroom. Don't send it. Rip it up. Throw it into the ocean. But at least writing it down, expressing it, might help. And hey, if you do send it, maybe it will give your biological mom some closure, too."

Gigi nodded once to herself, having never thought of it that way before. "You're right... she did look like she was in pain when she saw me..."

From where he was perched on the top bunk suspended from the ceiling, Jess scoffed. "Oh, come on, April! Do you really think Sherry deserves to know any of this from Gigi?"

"Gigi doesn't have to send it, Jess! Weren't you listening?"

Luke quickly jumped in before an argument could ensue. "While I'm glad that we are having a healthy debate here as a family..." he glanced pointedly at Jess. "Whether Sherry has the right to know anything about Gigi or not is irrelevant." He held court at the head of the room. "Listen well, _all_ of you: it takes a lot of kindness to be considerate of someone else's feelings... even when they might not deserve it. _Especially_ when they don't deserve it." He turned to his adopted daughter. "You can handle this however you want, Geeg, and we will support that decision."

April bit her lip, her father's words suddenly inspiring her. "I've got something to say!" Everyone turned to her expectantly, wondering if this was related to why April and Luke had left during dinner. "I'm... lesbian. I like girls."

To her credit, Lorelai put on the biggest acting performance of her life by pretending to be surprised. Choking up, she ran to her stepdaughter and hugged her tightly. "I love you... no matter what," Lorelai whispered.

Jess helped to diffuse the solemnity in the air by cracking a joke. "Well, April, on behalf of America, I apologize that we have a vanilla-waver Christo-fascist squatting in the Naval Observatory." Everyone shakily laughed at the dig against the current Vice President.

Luke beckoned to everybody who surrounded April in a group hug. "We all love you, April," Rory said. "As you are." She drew back out of the embrace, an idea coming to her. "We should celebrate!"

"Pool party on Deck 10!" Will crowed. The Danes clan scrambled to change into swimsuits. Except for Gigi, who begged off.

"You guys go ahead. I'll... catch up."

Luke smiled at her knowingly as he closed the stateroom door behind everyone. Alone, Gigi sat down with a pen and paper and began to write...

* * *

It was getting late when Gigi, surrounded by her siblings, stood in front of the door to a stateroom a few floors down from them.

"You really want to leave it here?" Will asked.

Gigi took a deep breath. "Yes. I do."

"Well, hurry up!" Jess hissed, a damp towel over his shoulders. "I'm dripping all over the floor! Besides, what if they arrive here all of a sudden?"

April pressed an ear to the door. "I hear snoring. They're in for the night. Let's go, Gigi!"

Gigi looked to Rory, her half-sister, once; the older woman nodded encouragingly. Gigi then left two envelopes on the floor by the door. One was addressed to Sherry, the other to Christopher. Gigi trusted that the second letter would get to her biological father, and she hadn't wanted to burden Rory with the task.

Straightening, Gigi motioned to the others, and with that, the quintet filed up the stairs back to the pool deck. It had taken a lot of hard work, some drama and strife, but the five of them - and Lorelai and Luke and baby Laurie - were a real, blended family.


End file.
